Method of and a device for introducing a soluble additive into a solvent

ABSTRACT

Soluble additive such as medicament in the form of a solid sticklike body is located in a pocket with an overflow arrangement such that the body is immersed at a substantially constant level in solvent which is supplied through the pocket to form a solution of substantially constant strength in a receptacle such as a drinking trough for livestock.

United States Patent Pulman et al.

[ 1 Feb. 29,1972

METHOD OF AND A DEVICE FOR INTRODUCING A SOLUBLE ADDITIVE INTO A SOLVENT inventors: Prockter T. Pulman; Geottrey D. S. Horsiall, both of Rainbow Valve Co. Limited,

Uthorpe Road, Stanton, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England Filed: June 11, 1970 Appl. No.: 45,487

Foreign Application Priority Data June 12, 1969 Great Britain ..29,732/69 US. Cl ..ll9/8l, 222/531, 239/54 Int. Cl .A0lk 7/00, AOlk 39/02 Field oiSearch ..'..ll9/78,8l,51.5, 79; 222/54; 239/54; 23/311, 267, 272.6; 424/366 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,150,639 9/1964 Sereda ..l19/78 3,283,746 11/1966 Ruter ..1 19/81 3,295,500 l/l967 Blough ..l l9/51.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 1,199,538 8/1965 Germany ..1 19/81 Primary Examiner--Aldrich F. Medbery Attorney-Michael S. Striker ABSTRACT Soluble additive such as medicament in the form of a solid sticklike body is located in a pocket with an overflow arrangement such that the body is immersed at a substantially constant level in solvent which is supplied through the pocket to form a solution of substantially constant strength in a receptacle such as a drinking trough for livestock.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures METHOD OF AND A DEVICE FOR INTRODUCING A SOLUBLE ADDITIVE INTO A SOLVENT This invention relates to a method of and a device for mixing a soluble additive in predetermined quantities which a solvent.

An object of the invention is to permit the addition of a soluble additive to a solvent under substantially self-regulating conditions, without necessitating mechanical moving parts for effecting the addition.

According to the invention there is provided a method of introducing a soluble additive into a solvent, in which the additive is constituted by or contained in a solid body at least part of which is maintained at a predetermined level of submergence in a solvent contained in a pocket, so that a solution having a substantially constant concentration of said additive is maintained in the pocket, the latter being arranged to supply said solution as required to a reservoir, trough or like receptacle.

Preferably the solid body is in the form of a stick, the lower end of which rests on the bottom of the pocket. The stick, which may contain the soluble additive mixed with a suitable filler, dissolves in the solvent in the pocket until the solution in the pocket is saturated. The stick then ceases to dissolve until the solution is withdrawn from the pocket and further solvent added thereto.

The pocket may form part of the receptacle for the solution, communicating therewith through a suitable aperture or aper tures. Preferably, however, the pocket lies in the flow path of the solvent into the receptacle for the solution.

The invention also provides a device for introducing a soluble additive into a solvent, comprising a pocket communicating with, or forming part of supply means leading to, a receptacle, means for supplying solvent to the pocket to maintain a predetermined level of solvent in said pocket, and a solid body comprising or including said soluble additive and located in said pocket with its lower end submerged in the solvent therein so that a substantially constant surface area of the body is in contact with the solvent in said pocket.

The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable to the case where the solvent is water and the receptacle to which the water is supplied comprises a drinking trough for livestock. The soluble additive may in this case comprise a medicament or drug to be medicament or drug to be added in small but regulated amounts to the drinking water in the trough. For example, it is common to add a drug or medicament to the drinking water supply for broiler house chickens.

Means are preferably provided for maintaining a substantially constant level of solution in the receptacle. Thus in a preferred arrangement the receptacle is suspended by means of a suspension which includes a movable valve operating member controlling the operation of a regulating valve included in said supply line so that the valve opens to admit solvent to the receptacle when the weight of the solution in the receptacle falls below a preset value, thereby effectively maintaining a predetermined weight of solution in the container.

The said pocket is preferably disposed in a vertical pipe forming part of the solvent supply line, so that solvent passing downwardly through said pipe enters the pocket,, where the solution with the additive is formed, and overflows from the pocket through at least one overflow outlet provided therein into the receptacle.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the pocket is subdivided into inner and outer parts by a sleeve, the two parts intercommunicating below the level of the overflow outlet or outlets, and the solid body being disposed within the sleeve, so that the solvent flows to the overflow outlet or outlets only after passing through the inner and outer parts of the pocket successively and, therefore, after flowing over the solid body.

Some embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view, partly in section, of an arrangement for supplying medicated drinking water to a drinking trough for livestock, said arrangement incorporating a device according to one embodiment of the present invention for forming the medicated water by dissolving a soluble additive in a drinking water supply;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale through part of the arrangement of FIG. 1, illustrating the device according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through a device according to an alternative embodiment of the invention, illustrated in broken lines in the arrangement of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section through a device according to a further embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 5 is a vertical section through a device according to a further alternative embodiment of the invention, being a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 2.

H6. 1 illustrates a drinking water supply arrangement, of a kind known per se, for livestock such as broiler house chickens, modified by the incorporation of a device according to the invention for dissolving in the drinking water a small but regulated concentration of a soluble additive such as a medicament or drug.

A receptacle in the form of an annular drinking trough l is supplied with drinking water through a vertical tubular stem 2 which has two outlet holes 3 (one only of which is shown) at its lower end. The drinking water passes outwardly through the holes 3 over the outer surface of a dome 4 and into the drinking trough l.

The entire structure is supported by a hook 5 attached to the upper end of the tubular stem 2. The hook 5 engages a valve operating arm 6 which is normally held in an equilibrium position in which it extends normally from the housing of a valve 7 by means of a tension spring 8 having an adjustable anchorage 9. The valve 7 is a double-acting valve of known type which is closed when the operating arm 6 is disposed in its equilibrium position as shown, but which is opened when the opening member is displaced in either direction from its equilibrium position. Such a valve is described in our British Pat. specification Nos. 904,991 and 977,818.

The valve 6 is connected in a flexible water supply conduit 10 which provides a gravity feed of drinking water from a reservoir (not shown) into the tubular stem 2.

The adjustable anchorage 8 and the housing of the valve 7 are formed integrally in plastics and are suspended from a fixed point, for example in the water reservoir, by a cord 1 I.

This arrangement operates in a known manner to maintain a substantially constant weight, and, therefore, a substantially constant level, of drinking water in the trough I. As the water in the trough 1 is consumed, the total weight of the suspended structure decreases and the valve operating member 6 is operated by means of the spring 8, opening the valve to admit further water into the tubular stem 2, and thence into the trough I. In practice, the trough 1 is used to provide a drinking water supply for a large number of birds (for example in a broiler house, and, since the water is being continuously consumed from the trough 1 the supply valve will normally be partially open at most times.

The present invention provides a simple device for dissolving in the drinking water a predetermined concentration of a soluble additive, for example a medicament or drug. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 2, the tubular stern has a closed pocket or well 12 at its lower end, below the level of the outlet holes 3. Water supplied to the tubular stem 2 from the conduit 10 accumulates in the well 12 and overflows therefrom through the holes 3.

A solid body in the form of an elongated stick 14 containing the soluble additive is located in the tubular stem 2 so that its lower end rests on the bottom of the well 12 and therefore dips into the water in the well 12 to a predetermined depth depending on the position of the outlet holes 3.

The stick 14 may comprise the soluble additive in pure form, or more usually, in admixture with a suitable soluble filler material such as sugar or gelatine.

Since the stick 14 is submerged in a substantially constant level of water, it has a substantially constant surface area in contact with the water. Should the water in the well 12 become saturated with the additive, as a result of the valve 7 being closed for any considerable length of time, the stick 14 will cease to dissolve in the water. In practice, therefore, the concentration of the solution in the well 12 will depend on the rate of supply of water to the well 12, and, therefore, on the rate of consumption of the solution at the drinking trough 1: if this rate is very slow and the valve 7 is in consequence closed for much of the time the solution in the well 12 will be virtually saturated.

The solution formed in the well 12 overflows through the holes 3 and is supplied to the trough 1 in the conventional manner as described above.

As alternative arrangement is illustrated in broken outline in FIG. 1 and in detail in FIG. 3. In this arrangement the soluble stick 14 is arranged in a tubular pocket 15 which is clamped to the external wall of the annular drinking trough l by means of a thumbscrew 16. The lower end of the tubular pocket 15 opens into the trough 1 and is disposed below the normal water level L in the trough 1.

As before, the stick 14 is maintained at a substantially constant level of submergence in the drinking water supply.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further alternative in which the soluble stick 14 is located in a tubular pocket 18 which is closed at its lower end and provided, at a predetermined distance from its lower end, with one or more outlet holes 3'. The pocket 18 is enclosed in a tubular jacket 19 which in normal use of the apparatus is arranged vertically and connected into a flexible supply conduit such as, for example, the conduit 10 in the arrangement of FIG. 1. The jacket 19 may be connected in the flexible conduit 10 upstream or downstream of the supply valve 7 for the drinking water. If the jacket 19 is arranged upstream of the supply valve 7 it should be ensured that the head of water above the supply valve does not in operation of the apparatus rise above the level of the outlet holes 3'. The jacket 19 may if desired be transparent, so as to act as a sight glass.

The soluble stick 14 containing the additive in the abovedescribed embodiments is conveniently manufactured by an extrusion process and cut into suitable lengths, analogously to the manufacture of spaghetti. The time taken for a stick 14 to dissolve in the course of use in the drinking water can be predetermined by suitably selecting the length and/or cross section of the stick and, additionally, by selecting filler materials having suitable solubility for admixture with the soluble additive in the stick 14. Normally the size and composition of the stick 14 would be such that, in normal use, the stick 14 was completely consumed over a period of about 24 hours.

To ensure that all the solvent, in this case water, supplied to the well or pocket in which the stick 14 is submerged comes into contact with the surface of the stick 14, the latter is preferably surrounded by a sleeve through which the water has to pass before reaching the overflow outlet or outlets.

Such an arrangement is illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 5, which is a modification of the device shown in FIG. 2. A sleeve 21 is arranged in the lower end of the tubular stem 2 and has an open lower end which is spaced a small distance from the lower end of the pocket or well 12, subdividing the latter into inner and outer parts which intercommunicate below the level of the overflow outlet holes 3. At its upper end the sleeve 21 is provided with an external flange 22 which is a tight sliding fit in the tubular stem 2 and which engages the intemal wall of the stem 2 above the level of the outlet holes 3. The stick 14 is located within the sleeve 21, as illustrated, so that the water supplied to the outlet holes 3 through the stem 2 has to pass through the interior of the sleeve 21, and, therefore, in contact with the stick 14, before passing around the lower end of the sleeve 21, between the sleeve 21 and the intemal wall of the well 12, and thence to the outlet holes 3.

We claim:

1. Device for introducing a soluble additive to drinking water for livestock to form a required solution, comprising: an animal drinking trough receptacle for the solution; supply means leading to the receptacle; a pocket in the flow path of the supply means, means supplying water to the pocket to maintain a predetermined level of water therein, and a solid body comprising said soluble additive and located in said pocket with its lower end submerged in the water therein, whereby a substantially constant surface area of said body is in contact with the water in said pocket.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, in which the soluble additive comprises a medicament or drug.

3. Device as claimed in claim 1, including means maintaining a substantially constant level of solution in the solution receptacle.

4. Device as claimed in claim 3, including suspension means supporting the receptacle, said suspension means including a movable valve operating member, a regulating valve included in said flow path of the supply means and controlled by the valve operating member to admit solvent to the receptacle via said pocket, when the weight of the solution in the receptacle falls below a'present value, thereby effectively maintaining a predetermined weight of solution in the receptacle.

5. Device as claimed in claim 1, including a vertical pipe forming part of the water supply means, said pocket being disposed in said vertical pipe, whereby water passing downwardly through said pipe enters the pocket, where the solution with the additive is formed, and overflow means in said pocket through which the solution flows into the receptacle.

6. Device as claimed in claim 5, including sleeve means subdividing the pocket into inner and outer parts, the two said parts intercommunicating below the level of the overflow means, and the solid body being disposed, within the sleeve means, whereby water flows to the overflow means only after passing through the inner and outer parts of the pocket successively and, therefore, after flowing over the surface of the solid body. 

1. Device for introducing a soluble additive to drinking water for livestock to form a required solution, comprising: an animal drinking trough receptacle for the solution; supply means leading to the receptacle; a pocket in the flow path of the supply means, means supplying water to the pocket to maintain a predetermined level of water therein, and a solid body comprising said soluble additive and located in said pocket with its lower end submerged in the water therein, whereby a substantially constant surface area of said body is in contact with the water in said pocket.
 2. Device as claimed in claim 1, in which the soluble additive comprises a medicament or drug.
 3. Device as claimed in claim 1, including means maintaining a substantially constant level of solution in the solution receptacle.
 4. Device as claimed in claim 3, including suspension means supporting the receptacle, said suspension means including a movable valve operating member, a regulating valve included in said flow path of the supply means and controlled by the valve operating member to admit solvent to the receptacle via said pocket, when the weight of the solution in the receptacle falls below a present value, thereby effectively maintaining a predetermined weight of solution in the receptacle.
 5. Device as claimed in claim 1, including a vertical pipe forming part of the water supply means, said pocket being disposed in said vertical pipe, whereby water passing downwardly through said pipe enters the pocket, where the solution with the additive is formed, and overflow means in said pocket through which the solution flows into the receptacle.
 6. Device as claimed in claim 5, including sleeve means subdividing the pocket into inner and outer parts, the two said parts intercommunicating below the level of the overflow means, and the solid body being disposed, within the sleeve means, whereby water flows to the overflow means only after passing through the inner and outer parts of the pocket successively and, therefore, after flowing over the surface of the solid body. 